In the first 20 days of December, mobile device activations tracked by analytics firm Flurry were around 1.5 million each day. But on Dec. 25, it identified 6.8 million new iOS and Android activations, representing 353 percent growth.

The previous single-day record tracked by Flurry came on Christmas Day in 2010, when there were 2.8 million device activations. That means Christmas 2011, the new record-holder for the biggest activation day, saw growth of more than 140 percent.

Flurry's statistics come from the company's analytics software, which is found in more than 140,000 applications. Peter Farago, vice president of marketing with Flurry, claimed that his company's statistics detect "roughly" 100 percent of new iOS and Android devices activated each day.

Application downloads on both iOS and Android also grew by 125 percent on Christmas Day, reaching 242 million. For the first 20 days of December, downloads averaged 108 million.

Flurry's statistics show Apple's App Store on pace to exceed 10 billion application downloads by the end of 2011. That would double the cumulative number of downloads that came in 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined.

Google's Android Market has also had a banner year in 2011. As of May 2011 it had 3 billion cumulative application downloads, but that number is expected to reach 10 billion by the end of the year.

Flurry reported earlier this month that iOS applications rake in 300 percent more revenue than their Android counterparts. That means for every dollar generated by an iOS application, a corresponding Android application brings in 24 cents in revenue.

As for activations, Google Vice President Andy Rubin said last week that new Android devices are being activated at a rate of 700,000 units per day. Apple has not revealed daily iOS activations in over a year, but did announce during its last quarterly earnings conference call that more than 250 million iOS devices had been sold to date.

When I went to the appstore a few days ago and i saw that apps like iBooks were at the top of the charts, I knew that it could only mean one thing; A shitload of people had just gotten new iPads, iPhones and iPod touches for XMAS.

Flurry's statistics show Apple's App Store on pace to exceed 10 billion application downloads by the end of 2011. That would double the cumulative number of downloads that came in 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined.

Is there anybody who still believes that Apple is just breaking even on this stuff?

Apple won of course, as they're making more profits than anybody else. Some ignorant Fandroid might come along and claim that every phone in the world that is not an iPhone and that is running Android sold more when you add all of those companies up together, but so what? That doesn't mean anything at all.

Who else won Christmas?

iOS developers, as they're actually getting paid for their apps and making money for their hard work. Many Android people don't even have a credit card to their name and they do not have any accounts set up to buy apps with. It doesn't really matter though, as the Android market is a pile of fragmented garbage filled with poor offerings, malware and third rate apps.

Apple customers also won of course, as those people who got new Apple devices are surely happy as shit, and they're currently downloading and enjoying new apps and feeling the joy of using their new devices, the best available, bar none.

Android customers have had a miserable Christmas, as there has no doubt been countless crying children who were dismayed when they saw some piece of shit Android device under the Christmas tree instead of an Apple device, which they had been hoping for.

When I went to the appstore a few days ago and i saw that apps like iBooks were at the top of the charts, I knew that it could only mean one thing; A shitload of people had just gotten new iPads, iPhones and iPod touches for XMAS.

I may (quite likely) be mistaken, but I was under the impression that the App Store goes into some kind of lockdown mode for about a week at Xmas time. No new submissions, no updates, no changes in sales rankings. This, according to my understanding, was the reason some developers like Electronic Arts stage dramatic, slash-and-burn 99-cent sales in the run-up to the holiday: because new iThing owners will rush to fill up their new gadgets with apps, and what they see in the top-seller charts will reflect the frenzied buying spurred by pre-holiday promotions. There is no opportunity for things to "level out" to a more normal distribution until the App Store unlocks, a few days after Xmas.

If this understanding is correct then examining App Store rankings today tells us nothing about what really happened at Christmas. We'll see that Friday, I think. (This year's lockdown started last Thursday and was set to last 8 days.)

I have no doubt you're right, though. Apple owned this Christmas. Details to follow in next month's quarterly earnings call.

As for activations, Google Vice President Andy Rubin said last week that new Android devices are being activated at a rate of 700,000 units per day. Apple has not revealed daily iOS activations in over a year, but did announce during its last quarterly earnings conference call that more than 250 million iOS devices had been sold to date.[/QUOTE]

wow, US still in reccession? cheap phone still preferred over the real thing (or VZ marketing worked overdrive during the holiday season).

I may (quite likely) be mistaken, but I was under the impression that the App Store goes into some kind of lockdown mode for about a week at Xmas time. No new submissions, no updates, no changes in sales rankings. This, according to my understanding, was the reason some developers like Electronic Arts stage dramatic, slash-and-burn 99-cent sales in the run-up to the holiday: because new iThing owners will rush to fill up their new gadgets with apps, and what they see in the top-seller charts will reflect the frenzied buying spurred by pre-holiday promotions. There is no opportunity for things to "level out" to a more normal distribution until the App Store unlocks, a few days after Xmas.

If this understanding is correct then examining App Store rankings today tells us nothing about what really happened at Christmas. We'll see that Friday, I think. (This year's lockdown started last Thursday and was set to last 8 days.)

I have no doubt you're right, though. Apple owned this Christmas. Details to follow in next month's quarterly earnings call.

Yes, I think that you're correct in that things slow down around Christmas with app submissions approval time etc. and staff vacation time possibly, but aren't the charts automated?

I could have sworn that the charts do change whenever I seem to check them and I have checked them in the past few days when looking for some new apps.

Apple won of course, as they're making more profits than anybody else. Some ignorant Fandroid might come along and claim that every phone in the world that is not an iPhone and that is running Android sold more when you add all of those companies up together, but so what? That doesn't mean anything at all.

Who else won Christmas?

iOS developers, as they're actually getting paid for their apps and making money for their hard work. Many Android people don't even have a credit card to their name and they do not have any accounts set up to buy apps with. It doesn't really matter though, as the Android market is a pile of fragmented garbage filled with poor offerings, malware and third rate apps.

Apple customers also won of course, as those people who got new Apple devices are surely happy as shit, and they're currently downloading and enjoying new apps and feeling the joy of using their new devices, the best available, bar none.

Android customers have had a miserable Christmas, as there has no doubt been countless crying children who were dismayed when they saw some piece of shit Android device under the Christmas tree instead of an Apple device, which they had been hoping for.

You got all that from that article? I will go back and re-read. All I got was that iOS and Android had an awesome Christmas and that competition is a good thing.

Well aren't you a pompous pile a crap? Wow, I'm at a loss for words for your demeaning remarks at what type of person buys an Android device (which I might add are the majority of people around the globe). I'm proud not to be in the same classification as idiots like you. Your parents must be so proud of the prick they have raised. Wow...

You may be at a loss for words, but you can't really argue with facts and logic.

Android customers lack the ability and the will to pay for stuff. They are cheapskates and they have a freeloading OWS type of mentality which ultimately affects the entire Android platform.

However, the largest single factor that appears to impact developer support for the platform is the consumers ability to pay. This comes down to Google Checkout penetration. Upon setting up an iOS device, a consumer must associate either a credit or gift card to her iTunes account. In theory, this means that 100% of all iOS device users are payment enabled. This has not been the case for Android, resulting in lower revenue generation possibilities on the platform.

How many people got an android, because some sales person talked the buyer into it saying it was better more free apps (per a employee at best buy) gave as gift and then returned and bought an ipad... or i device

I heard this sevral times over the holiday shopping season and wanted to step in.. just because a pile of crap is free, does not make it gold.... how many quality apps does android have, 100 apps that do the same thing just named differant does not count for 100 apps,

I may (quite likely) be mistaken, but I was under the impression that the App Store goes into some kind of lockdown mode for about a week at Xmas time. No new submissions, no updates, no changes in sales rankings.

Submissions and updates yes because they need a human to approve them.

But the sales rankings are by computer tabulation so they can be updated at any point.

Among the top 20 countries for mobile devices, Localytics saw a huge increase in both Apple iOS and Android devices over the December 23 – 26 weekend compared to previous weekends since November 25. The US and Germany registered the highest growth rates for iOS while South Korea and Sweden had the highest growth rates for Android.

Quote:

Android Grows More Quickly in 14 of top 20 Countries
Interestingly, Android finished in a virtual tie with a 12x increase over the same period. But at least in terms of recent growth, Android appears to now lead Apple iOS in a greater number of markets, despite a number of legal battles between manufacturers.

Android saw the strongest relative growth in South Korea, besting the iOS family by over 80%. Sweden and Japan followed with new Android device growth 45% to 50% ahead of Apple iOS. Apple maintained a lead in new device growth in 6 markets; US, Germany, Great Britain (UK), Italy and Malaysia.

"What is REAL? Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made. It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes. When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Flurry's statistics come from the company's analytics software, which is found in more than 140,000 applications. Peter Farago, vice president of marketing with Flurry, claimed that his company's statistics detect "roughly" 100 percent of new iOS and Android devices activated each day.

Please list those 140,000 apps so i can make sure to not install them. What gives this company the right to analyze anything in my phone without my expressed permission?

You may be at a loss for words, but you can't really argue with facts and logic.

Android customers lack the ability and the will to pay for stuff. They are cheapskates and they have a freeloading OWS type of mentality which ultimately affects the entire Android platform.

Would you please cut it out. I am a huge Apple fan but your bigoted anti-Android crusade is over the top and makes Apple product users look bad. And I'm sure I speak for most die-hard Apple fans and AI members.

Best Buy had a deal that you could get a free iPhone 4 free with a 2 year activation. Doesn't get any cheaper than that. I remember SJ saying that free phones are free because thats all they are worth.

You mean that Best Buy had a one day deal out of 365 days? Yeah, I saw that too, and it was only for the 32 GB.

Would you please cut it out. I am a huge Apple fan but your bigoted anti-Android crusade is over the top and makes Apple product users look bad. And I'm sure I speak for most die-hard Apple fans and AI members.

It matters not to me how other people may perceive how I make other Apple users look. As I've stated many times before, I only speak for myself here. I like to tell it how I see it, and I'm not bothered if the truth may offend a certain segment of people. Android is a crap platform and Fandroids are full of shit.

And I'm sure that many Apple fans here agree with me, as I get PM's that can attest to that fact.

And Sweden is also the country where they have stupid stuff like the Pirate Party. It's no surprise that pirates, freeloaders and people who prefer to steal stuff will naturally gravitate towards an inferior platform like Android.

Something to do with real time prioritised process thread access to the kernel apparently, the inherent flaw in Android which firmly plants it in the "almost as good" copy class.

You're likely misinformed, the true reason is not a software limitation but rather a choice made by the developers. Unreal Engine 3, which is the basis of Infinity Blade II, is also available on Android.

The fact that you need to make this discussion an iOS against Android one is just pathetic...

Understand that there is a delusion out there that any and all Android devices are low cost garbage. And it is assumed by the delusional that anyone purchasing an Android must not be able to afford an iPhone because there can be no other explanation how someone could purchase something different from the delusional so it has to be cost and in no way could that person be happy with the purchase and will only be happy once they are rid of the Android device and finally purchase an iOS device. It is almost assumed an Android owner would be better off with nothing if they can not have an iOS device.

Something to do with real time prioritised process thread access to the kernel apparently, the inherent flaw in Android which firmly plants it in the "almost as good" copy class.

I see someone had already replied, but without a reference.

According to an interview with the two developer brothers it has to do with potential piracy concerns rather than any hardware/software limitations with Android. Of course with Infinity Blade available "at a discount" to jailbroken iPhones it does make you wonder if there might be other influences as well.http://androidcommunity.com/infinity...erns-20111125/

I find it disturbing how these numbers are blended in with Android. I believe this is done on purpose to hide the declining activation rates of iOS. It is as if the reporters are afraid of admitting iOS decline through the tremendous demand by people for Android devices. You have to admit, Google with their Android OS is just burying Apple iOS easily.